workers

Some people aspire to retire at 60, 62 or 66, reducing the amount of their Social Security payment by 20 percent. Others are in it for the long haul, planning to work to 70 and beyond. Indeed, 1 in 5 older adults plan to work after 66. Where will they work? Some companies have mandatory retirement at 70 — or earlier. Others may make exceptions for highly skilled employees. As you consider retirement, review ways you can be of added value …

Employers capped a year of solid hiring by adding 252,000 jobs to the economy in December — and older workers welcomed those gains. The national unemployment rate for people 55-plus dipped by 0.6 percent to 3.9 percent last month, a bigger monthly decline than the rate for workers overall, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Better still, workers 55 and older saw their jobless rate fall over the past year from 5.1 percent in December 2013. Older women seemed …

Buried in new rules that will govern the House for the next two years is a provision that could force an explosive battle over Social Security’s finances on the eve of the 2016 presidential election. The Social Security disability program has been swamped by aging boomers, and unless Congress acts, the trust fund that supports it is projected to run dry in late 2016. At that point, the program will collect only enough payroll taxes to pay 81 percent of …

Illinois will become the first state with a broad-based effort to automatically enroll private-sector employees without retirement plans into a new savings program. Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation on Sunday that creates the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program. Employers with at least 25 workers and no retirement plan will be required to offer employees the option of enrolling in Secure Choice, which allows employees to invest in a Roth IRA through payroll deduction. Employees can decline. “This turnkey program will make it …

A new starter savings account proposed nearly a year ago by President Barack Obama is now open for deposits. MyRA, which stands for my retirement account, is a savings program designed for millions of workers without a retirement plan on the job. Even those with a retirement plan at work, though, can contribute if they meet myRA’s requirements. Under the federal program, workers right now can contribute only if their employer can transfer part of their paycheck through direct deposit …

BREAKING UPDATE 12/2/14: The Illinois House of Representatives passed the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program. I want to bring your attention to something happening right now in Illinois that could give small businesses a competitive edge and help millions of Illinois workers have a secure financial future — but time is running out. Only three days remain for the state House of Representatives to pass the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program and give over 2 million Illinoisans a pathway to …